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A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which lumber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw, usually a whipsaw, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. "sawpit" and "saw pit" at TheFreeDictionary.com It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, which could then be cut down into boards, Fence, posts, etc. Many towns, villages and country estates had their own saw pits. The greatest user of sawn timber in past centuries was the shipbuilding industry. After falling, without bark, in smaller and more standardized sizes, and not intended as primary members in shipbuilding, the term 'timber' is often replaced by the term 'lumber'.
Together, the sawyers would alternate pulling the two-man saw through the log. If the saw began closing, it could cause the saw to bind and increase friction; wedges, most often made of convenient bits of wood, could be inserted in order to keep the kerf open and reduce the friction. Two-man saws were designed to cut in both directions and very careful tooth design was necessary to clear the sawdust during the cut. The sawdust accumulated to the extent that it had to be 'dug out' and removed in a bucket. Oak dust could be burned and used in the curing of bacon.Sturt, George (1963). The Wheelwright's Shop.. Cambridge University Press. .
The two man team would use a two handled saw, called a 'whipsaw', with 'saddleblocks' or 'dogs' to hold the log in position horizontally. Sawing was a slow and exhausting process, requiring strong men with great stamina. The topsawyer had to be especially strong because the saw was pulled in turn by each man, and the lower had the advantage of gravity. The topsawyer also had the important task of guiding the saw so that the board was of even thickness. This was often done by following a chalkline. In some cases, the box handle on one end of the saw could be removed so the saw could be pulled free when the sawyers needed to move the timber to a new position. A detachable end to the saw.
The top-sawyer's work had to be very accurate; it was he who kept a careful balance on the log and guided the long saw, who kept the cuts straight or curved as required, and who estimated the width of the planks. He was the man in charge of the operation, and it wasn't uncommon for nicknames such as 'William Top-sawyer' to be common currency in country areas. Memoirs of Country life.
Saw pits were a crucial component of shipbuilding, for which planks of wood were necessary for the construction of all classes of vessels. The logs of wood to be sawn were placed over a pit on planks of wood called "dogs" in naval jargon. The senior sawyer stood on top of the plank. The junior one had to go into the pit, which was often partially filled with water, with sawdust constantly 'raining down,' so he stood in a layer of sawdust as a result. Brixham Museum model One theory of the origin of the terms 'top dog' and 'underdog' is that they come from saw pit work practices (however, others cite documentary evidence that these terms more likely arose from dog fighting). Dog fighting and the origin of Topdog, etc. Cutting from underneath a suspended log is sometimes called "underbucking".
Ten foot logs were sometimes sawn into boards except for about the last two inches. In this way, the boards could be more easily handled; then the boards were separated by cutting off the end of the log.
Up to 200 boards a day could be produced with water-driven power sawing, compared to the 12 or so a day by two men in a saw pit. A saw pit could, if circumstances demanded, be worked by a single person, with the end of the saw being weighted with a stone or some other weight, and then raised and lowered by the sawyer.Paterson, Page 105
===Views of the Kennox estate saw pit===
The 'modern' sawmill was invented or perfected by the Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon (1550–1607) who applied a pitman arm onto a wind mill, which converted a turning motion into an up-an-down sawing motion. Cornelis took out a patent on his sawmill on 15 December 1593, and on the pitman arm device on 6 December 1597. Early sawmills adapted the to mechanical power, generally driven by a water wheel. The circular motion of the wheel was changed to back-and-forth motion of the saw blade by the pitman arm or rod. A pitman is similar to a conrod, but in reverse (a conrod converts back-and-forth motion to circular motion).
Several early sawmills in England were burned by sawyers who were fearful of losing their livelihoods. However, the increased efficiency of the sawmill, and the back-breaking nature of the saw pit work, resulted in saw pits generally going out of use in the United Kingdom at the time of the industrial revolution. Old Ordnance survey circa 1860 often show the location of saw pits, but by the start of the 20th century very few remained and most are no longer in use. Roy Underhill tells the tall tale, or tongue-in-cheek story, that, after the development of steam-powered sawing machines, saw pits were unnecessary, and therefore were cut up and sold as post-holes.
Saw pits also featured in some of the most significant events of early European Australian settlement. In August 1788, William Bligh captain of , anchored in Adventure Bay, Tasmania and ordered his crew to dig a saw pit in order to repair their boat. Eight months later the crew would go on to mutiny in the famous Mutiny on the Bounty.
In January 1788, the first British fleet sailed into Botany Bay, then Sydney Cove to settle Sydney. Saw pits were promptly dug in both places so building timber could be produced.
Nineteenth century pit sawyers in New Zealand were well paid; during the 1840s in Nelson, a sawyer could earn 80 pounds in five months, more than double the average wage at the time.
, used to make White coal, are often found nearby saw pits.Muir, Pages 91 - 92.
William Shakespeare refers to saw pits in the Merry Wives of Windsor. Daniel Defoe's character, the 17th century castaway Robinson Crusoe, complains about how difficult it is to saw timber into planks without the use of a saw pit.
Philip Wharton was born in 1613, and at the age of 12 (1625) he became the fourth Lord Wharton. In 1642 Lord Wharton raised a regiment of foot soldiers and a troop of horsemen to fight in the Battle of Edgehill. They behaved less than gloriously - "Before there were any near excuse three or four of our regiments fairly ran away - Sir William Fairfax's, Sir Henry Cholmley's, my Lord Kimbolton's and to say the plain truth my own." Wharton himself ran away and is said to have hidden in a saw pit, thus earning for himself the parliamentary nickname of Philip 'Sawpit' Wharton. Sawpit Wharton.
The settlement of Saw Pit in the United States of America eventually outgrew this name and became Port Chester by incorporating as a village in 1868. The Town of Sawpit, Colorado is a statutory town located in San Miguel County, Colorado, United States of America.
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